Giving a ray of hope to lakhs of poor investors in chit fund firms, a lower court here in a significant ex-parte ad-interim order on Wednesday directed the Cuttack ADM to sell through public auction the attached properties of Rose Valley Group of Companies and distribute the sale proceeds among the investors equitably.
A designated court of the Additional District and Sessions Court here presided over by PK Sasmal gave the orders to confiscate and sell the properties worth over Rs 63.64 crore after holding the order of attachment passed by the State Government in July last year as ‘absolute’.
“The ad-interim order of attachment passed on July 1, 2014 is hereby made absolute and the applicant petitioner-cum-competent authority is directed to sell the properties attached by public auction and realise the sale proceeds for equitable distribution among the investors,” the court ordered ex-parte as the company authorities did not turn up to court in spite of repeated reminders.
This is the first such judicial order in the State paving way for investors to get back their money in chit fund companies, said Special Public Prosecutor Subrat Mohanty, who is appointed by the Government in the designated court that is taking up matters pertaining to economic offences.
Mohanty said Cuttack ADM BB Das, as the competent authority in this matter, had filed the application for confiscation of Rose Valley Company’s properties after the State Finance Department last year had ordered for attachment of the properties under Section 3 of the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishment) Act of 2011.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the State police had seized the properties of Rose Valley which include 17 acres of land and buildings on it worth over Rs 11 crore, 32 bank accounts having over Rs 51 crore deposits and cash of Rs 47 lakh from some of the 65 branches of the Company.